In a world of polarising distrust and trade tensions, the spread of coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19), both within nations and internationally, is aided and abetted by
misinformation that circumnavigates the planet in microseconds. Such misinformation
is not all malevolent, although its impact can be devastating. The only bastion of
defence against rising public panic, financial market hysteria, and unintended misunderstandings
of the science and epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2) is agile, accurate, worldwide-available counter-information that takes
the high moral ground and conveys a consistently science-driven narrative.